Safran comes to Seattle with its key supplier status and a focus on environmental commitment

April 18, 2016

Safran had a strong representation at this month’s Aerospace & Defense Supplier Summit (A&DSS) in Seattle, Washington – which is one of Safran's major hub locations in North America, where five of its 30 U.S. companies cover products from commercial aircraft engines, electrical wiring systems and landing gear assemblies to wheels, brakes and engineering services for airliners.

The Group’s presence at this major supplier event brought together business development and purchasing executives from Safran, Safran USA, the Safran North America International Purchasing Office, Messier-Bugatti-Dowty, Labinal Power Systems and Aircelle.

Sponsored by the Washington State Department of Commerce and Boeing, the A&DSS gathering enabled companies throughout the global supply chain to meet, make connections and identify new business partners.

For the first time, Safran took part in A&DSS’ Green Aviation Gallery, an exhibit area dedicated to green innovation. Philippe Chico, a New Product Development engineer from Messier-Bugatti-Dowty in Everett, Washington gave a presentation highlighting the company’s commitment to developing environmentally-friendly aircraft landing and braking systems – offering solutions to eliminate hazardous chemicals, and reduce fuel consumption, emissions and noise. 

"A&DSS was a unique opportunity to arrange B2B meetings with a large community of suppliers supporting the North American aerospace sector in general, and Boeing in particular,” said Michael Shields, the Vice President of Safran North America Purchasing. “Therefore, Safran's supply chain presence was key at this gathering."

In addition to one-on-one sessions, the summit featured workshops on a variety of topics, including procurement and supply chain policies, advanced manufacturing, intellectual property and ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations), along with quality improvement and the Internet of Things (IoT).